Para Athletics Worlds: Sumit Antil stars as India win 10 medals; secure 18 Paralympics 2024 berths

India finished their 2023 World Para Athletics Championships campaign in Paris with a record tally 10 medals – including three gold, four silver, and three bronze medals. This effort put India 19th among the 62 countries that competed in the tournament.

This is also India’s best-ever performance in the global event, going past their nine-medal effort at the 2019 edition in Dubai.

The reigning Paralympics champion Sumit Antil was the star for India as he won the men’s F64 javelin throw gold with a world record attempt of 70.83m.

Sachin Sarjerao Khilari in men’s F46 shot put and Ajeet Singh in men’s F46 javelin throw were the other gold medal winners for India in the competition.

Tokyo Paralympic medallists Yogesh Khatuniya, Nishad Kumar, and Praveen Kumar too found themselves on the podium in Paris.

While Khatuniya and Nishad bagged a silver medal each in men’s F56 discus throw and men’s T47 high jump respectively, Praveen took home the bronze medal in the men’s F64 high jump.

Rinku Hooda in men’s F46 javelin throw and Shailesh Kumar in men’s T63 high jump were the other silver medallists for India.

In the women’s section, Ekta Bhyan (F51 club throw) and Pooja (F54 javelin throw) won a bronze medal each.

All the 10 medallists also secured themselves a berth at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

Along with them, eight more athletes – Gavit Dilip Mahadu (men’s T47 400m), Mariyappan Thangavelu (men’s T63 high jump), Sundar Singh Gurjar (men’s F46 javelin throw), Navdeep (men’s F41 javelin throw), Soman Rana (men’s F57 shot put), Abhishek Chamoli (men’s F54 javelin throw) Kashish Lakra (women’s F51 club throw), and Bhagyashri Jadhav (women’s F34 shot put), also booked their ticket for the upcoming Paralympic Games by the virtue of finishing in the top four in their respective events.